Merced’s Black Rascal Creek rerouted as crew replaces pipe

A crew is rerouting Black Rascal Creek under M Street in Merced while it works to install a new storm drain, a city department head said Thursday.

The Atwater-based Rolfe Construction crew began work this week on the roughly $265,000 project adding a new stretch of corrugated pipe for the storm drain, what is technically called a culvert, that carries the creek under M Street, according to David Gonzalves, the director of development services.

Work is estimated to go on for 30 to 45 days as the crew installs the 78-inch pipe, he said, adding that the bike path under M Street will remain closed. It’s been closed for a few months already.

The crew intends to avoid closing M Street during construction, Gonzalves said, but there will be some traffic control “for the safety of the crew.”

On Thursday, M Street’s four lanes were down to two for several feet near the construction site. Heavy machinery could be seen moving back and forth across M Street.

The crew has dammed the creek, pumping the water in plastic pipes that run through the walkway and sending the water back into the creek downstream on the other side of M Street.

“They temporarily dam the water and pump it with convergent pumps,” he said. “It’s pretty standard, not anything out of the ordinary.”

Gonzalves said city staffers are set to discuss the project with the Merced City Council at its regular Sept. 6 meeting.

This story was originally published August 4, 2016 at 5:16 PM with the headline "Merced’s Black Rascal Creek rerouted as crew replaces pipe."